Soap Review: Shave Stick Showdown – Palmolive Menthol vs Valobra vs La Toja

I've seen elsewhere that Valobra are going to release a bowl version, apparently before the end of the year. I don't know about the formulation, but maybe you'll get lucky with a less offensive one, Pj. Have you tried either of the ones that come in a box? I think one of them is meant to have an almond scent.
 
Mong. said:
I've seen elsewhere that Valobra are going to release a bowl version, apparently before the end of the year. I don't know about the formulation, but maybe you'll get lucky with a less offensive one, Pj. Have you tried either of the ones that come in a box? I think one of them is meant to have an almond scent.
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I've tried Valobra menthol. A soft soap that Drubbing gave me a bit of. It's basically the same doggy carpet smell but with a bit of menthol sprayed over it. If anything it's worse. I sent some to Mark, appropriately wrapped in one of those council supplied doggy waste bags you see tied to bins at suburban parks. Don't know if that spoiled his appreciation of the stuff but he hasn't exactly been raving about it!

I can't imagine what almond would do to it. Not a big fan of almond either.

Unfortunately to date there's nothing much the Valobra factory can do for me other than sacking their scent department staff and starting afresh with a completely new formula. There's plenty of others out there. But having said that it is one of the best lathers around.
 
Pjotr said:
Unfortunately to date there's nothing much the Valobra factory can do for me other than sacking their scent department staff and starting afresh with a completely new formula. There's plenty of others out there. But having said that it is one of the best lathers around.
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Well, perhaps good news for you then mate. This link to a TSN thread suggests that it will be a hard soap, rather than their existing soft soaps. Hopefully that means a new formulation, and not just that they're sticking it in a bowl.

SmallYetDeadly said:
This Valobra is sounding like a P.160 duro in a stick with a worse odour. Interesting.
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For me, it has similar strong points. I like the scent of P.160 more, and it's maybe a little less slick but denser than the Valobra. Speaking of P.160 (and also Cella), I have mine in the bar fridge. Is that really necessary? All the beer smells like Italian cake.
 
Mong. said:
For me, it has similar strong points. I like the scent of P.160 more, and it's maybe a little less slick but denser than the Valobra. Speaking of P.160 (and also Cella), I have mine in the bar fridge. Is that really necessary? All the beer smells like Italian cake.
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Just buy menthol soap for that "cool rush" Mong :lol:

I haven't worried at all about soap storage. In the cupboard has been working fine for me. My p.160 duro doesn't even have a lid and I can't say I've noticed it misbehaving.
 
I finished up with the Valobra this morning. I generally never shave on consecutive days as it's both unnecessary for work and I've had irritation trouble in the past. I thought I'd give it a go today, and I've been punished for deviating from my routine with a bit of irritation. I had a couple of razor bumps from the roughness I experienced from the Feather, so a few weepers were the result and a touch of redness. In the future, I'll just stick to my usual routine, but it's good to have a reminder about why you do things the way you do.

I deviated from the iKON SB to have an SE shave. I always like shaving with the Featherweight, though I would have opted for the OCMM if I didn't have a couple of existing trouble spots. Omega #45 banded boar was my brush of choice, and it performed very well with the Valobra, although, it did take a significantly longer time than usual to properly hydrate the soap. When I finally got there, it was the best lather yet of all the sticks. This is just a characteristic of the boar I think, and a denser knot that held more water would have fixed it. I may have been a bit tentative with my water level increments too, but I'm still endeavoring to add it slowly to the lather so I don't drown it. Comfort is the word of the day, and Valobra obliged. Slicker on the later passes, and nicely cushioning against the sharp SE blade on the first. When I have a successful ATG pass on my neck it always leaves me feeling good, and today, I was rewarded with a fairly consistent DFS for my troubles. A few hours later, my small irritation has dropped off noticeably. Shout out to the Body Shop Maca Root razor rash balm, which I didn't like originally but actually does a very good job at soothing raw skin.

So, three shaves each with three different shave sticks. It's clear from the last few shaves that in my mind Valobra is the clear winner. That's not to say that it's the best among them, but it most closely fits my requirements for a good shaving soap. As for shaving sticks themselves, I'm extremely happy I dove in and tried them. I still prefer to load from a puck, and I'm looking forward to going back to my Proraso and Mike's Natural, but the convenience and portability of the sticks has convinced me not to grate them and I will travel with them from now on. It's also been nice to have a period of consistency with a few favourite bits of kit. The much loved iKON, obviously, but also my Duke and #45. I took a long time to get over the "TRY EVERYTHING BUY EVERYTHING" mentality, but now that I'm here, my shaves have really picked up in quality. Narrowing down the things that make a successful shave has made it all the more satisfying trying out a few new products, because I'm more or less guaranteed to have a good shave regardless. It's funny to think that it's been slightly over a year of wet-shaving. I'm extremely happy that it's stuck.

Back to the La Toja/Palmolive next shave. Maybe I'll be a freak and do half my face with each. My attention span is running thin, and I'm coveting my Proraso tub. When cash permits, I'd like to do a comparison of shave soaps containing lanolin. This means MWF, Mike's, Haslinger. Maybe even Barrister & Mann or TSD Lanolin too. I don't know if anyone's checked out the Barrister & Mann in particular, but it has an ingredient list that raises hope.
 
SmallYetDeadly said:
Just buy menthol soap for that "cool rush" Mong :lol:

I haven't worried at all about soap storage. In the cupboard has been working fine for me. My p.160 duro doesn't even have a lid and I can't say I've noticed it misbehaving.
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Hahaha, I have Palmolive Menthol for my skin blast. It's breezy!

I read somewhere that they can go rancid. I have a big 1kg block of Cella to get through, and I'd be bummed if it got shitty. Maybe I'll stick it in the veggie crisper or sell a chunk.
 
Mong I wouldn't worry about soap temp that much. All of mine get temps of at least 30 degrees every day and the only thing I have noticed was a little splitting of some tobs sandalwood cream.
 
I'm no microbiologist but I seriously doubt that bacteria can live in or on a bar of soap regardless of how much juicy oils and fats are in it. The scents will also act as a deterent. Drying out is more of an issue and there's probably more danger of that happening in a fridge. The idea of opening a bar fridge and, instead of a nice cool waft of air whetting your beer apetite, to be confronted with a blast of Cella almond or Valobra wet carpet smell would not appeal to me at all.
 
If my shave supplies were in the beer fridge I'd be hairy and drunk :laugh:

Just store that chunk of cella in an airtight container Mong.

Or chop it up and share the bulk buy love.

A kg of Cella is something that will become a family heirloom if you use any other soaps in your rotation.
 
Well, it's all in the veggie box now and the scent has diminished. So has my beer supply, it was nice and warm in Melbourne today so there was only one thing to do. :cool:

I think I will stick at least a portion of the Cella up for sale, so if anyone is interested, I'll make a b/s/t thread over the weekend with some other things, such as a Slim AND a Fatboy. Also some soaps and creams. I need to make some pocket money to spend on shaving goodies when I go to Sicily in a couple of months.
 
Mong. said:
Well, perhaps good news for you then mate. This link to a TSN thread suggests that it will be a hard soap, rather than their existing soft soaps. Hopefully that means a new formulation, and not just that they're sticking it in a bowl.......
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Thanks Mong, I'll keep my ear to the ground for that one.
 
Grand Final day shave!

I went back to the La Toja, having decided that shaving with a different soap on each side of my face was stupid. iKon SB w/ Personna Red, which incidentally, is a nice blade but a wee bit rougher than it's Lab Blue cousin. Pleasantly aggressive and smooth cut though, so it was a good baseline for testing. Omega #49 unbanded beast, it's a bit big for me but it's such a soft and springy brush. Great resistance on the face. Waffling done, on to the soap. I've pretty much come to grips with how much soap I need to rub on my face, so my problems with water levels have subsequently sorted themselves out. I still think it provides decent protection and slickness plus good cushion against the blade, but not as much of any compared to the Valobra. It's in second place at the moment. The strongest point for the La Toja is that it builds quickly and easily into a very usable lather. It's a jack of all trades, master of none type of soap. I don't mean to rag on it, I could easily use La Toja enjoyably as a daily soap. It doesn't moisturise very well at all though.

I'm going to finish up next shave with the Palmolive, before one final comparison...ARKO!
 
Pjotr said:
Unfortuntely it looks like Freo are getting a grand final shave too.
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Good game though, and if they'd kicked straight, it would have been a very different story.

Final shave in the Showdown just now, concluding with the Palmolive stick paired with the Duke and Krona/Personna Red. Exceptional shave! I've often found that blades that I dislike in my go-to razors perform exceptionally in the mild Krona, and the roughness I felt from the Red in the iKon was totally missing this time. I've been using Drubbing's method of squeezing out my brushes to keep the water levels consistent, and it's a much better way to go especially with a water retaining brush like the Duke. The Palmolive was extremely impressive this time. I used a little more soap than I did with the other sticks, and I was rewarded with a thick and protective lather with outstanding slickness. The blade slides so smoothly across the skin with this soap, it's a real strong point. I'm going to call it a draw for second place between La Toja and Palmolive. They are both fantastic offerings, with Palmolive possibly having an edge over it's Spanish counterpart due to it's exceptional pricing.

The winner of the showdown...Valobra! Once I tried the Valobra, there really wasn't much competition in my mind. To put a number value on these, however, I'd say that Palmolive and La Toja would be tied at 8/10 and Valobra sitting slightly above at 9/10. All of these sticks are winners, and all of them could be used to great satisfaction and success anytime. I miss loading my brush from a bowl, so for my upcoming Arko! comparison, I'm going to cheat and opt for the tub version.
 
An update for any interested Valobra fans interested in the soap puck (and also PJ)

Valobra said:
New! Soon available by your usual dealer. The classic Valobra Stick made in round shape with its handy and elegant jar. Double weight for extra long lasting. As all Valobra special soaps with lecithin and vitamins it is extremely delicate on very sensitive skin. In four fragrances: Fougere, Cologne, Patchouly and Unscented. For a super comfortable shave, to be used with a gentlemans shaving brush.
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Mong. said:
An update for any interested Valobra fans interested in the soap puck (and also PJ)
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Thanks for the thought Mong but I think I'll pass on that. Although it's admirable that Valobra are adding new scents to their lines I can't imagine that the basic formula will change. I've got a soap puck made up of left over shave sticks. It contains Speick, La Toja, MWF, Tabac (none of which are particularly slouches in the scent department) and Valobra. Occasionally I get this whiff during a shave which makes me initially think that the dog has snuck up on me after playing in the sprinklers and then I remember what a fool I was adding Valobra. I had hoped that the scent would be masked and only the excellent lathering qualities would remain.
 
Originally Posted by Valobra
New! Soon available by your usual dealer. The classic Valobra Stick made in round shape with its handy and elegant jar. Double weight for extra long lasting. As all Valobra special soaps with lecithin and vitamins it is extremely delicate on very sensitive skin. In four fragrances: Fougere, Cologne, Patchouly and Unscented. For a super comfortable shave, to be used with a gentlemans shaving brush.
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Blobby need not apply!
 
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